W Whoever wants to know these days what the best female and male tennis players are currently up to will quickly find themselves in the Indian Ocean. It almost seems as if the stars of the scene have undertaken a kind of obligation to unwind on the Maldives for a few days after the season. Almost all of them are there. Aryna Sabalenka, the No. 1 in the world rankings among women.
Jannik Sinner, the best man, of course, as well. He has traveled on the same flight as Alexander Zverev, the best German tennis player. Perhaps they also met Daniil Medvedev. The Russian, currently 13th in the world rankings, must leave again soon. On Saturday he is playing at an invitational tournament in St. Petersburg.
It is the first time since the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine that Medvedev is appearing in his homeland. Official tournaments in the calendars of the ATP and WTA have not taken place in Russia since February 2022. This, along with the exclusion of Russian teams from team competitions such as the Davis Cup, forms part of the sanctions package of the International Tennis Federation against Russia’s tennis federation.
Participation in invitational tournaments on the territory of the Russian Federation is allowed to anyone who wishes. Although the organizers have certainly tried to lure Medvedev, this year he is taking part for the first time in St. Petersburg in the competition for the “Palmyra of the North” Trophy.
Without a Stance
Medvedev has consistently tried to sidestep any question about Russia’s war against Ukraine with as bland an answer as possible, if he even answers at all. “I am against war,” is one of Medvedev’s phrases. After this was interpreted by many as a statement against Russia’s actions in Ukraine, he did not say it again. Now he is traveling to a gala tournament in St. Petersburg. It is sponsored by the Russian energy company Gazprom, which plays a not insignificant role as a fund-raiser in Russia’s war economy.
Medvedev appears together with his compatriots Karen Khachanov and Veronika Kudermetova, as well as the Kazakh Julia Putintseva, for Team Lions. Whoever occasionally enjoys a video with the Persian tennis clown Mansour Bahrami may be surprised to learn that he will bring his show as captain of the Lions to Russia next weekend. The Lions will play against Team Sphinx with Anastasia Potapova, Diana Shnaider, and Alexander Bublik, who, like Putintseva, is registered with the Kazakh Tennis Federation.
The Russian No. 1 among the women, the 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva, the organizers would surely have liked to present as well. They did so last year already. But IMG, the American marketing agency of the young star, had something against it. A year later Medvedev’s advertising partners like Lacoste or the luxury watchmaker Bovet raised no objection to the tennis star’s participation in a show event in Russia.
That fits with the mood in world sport, which is opening the door for Russian athletes more and more that had been closed to them in 2022. Also Shamil Tarpishchev, the outspoken head of the Russian Tennis Federation, counts on an end to the sanctions soon. In March his membership in the International Olympic Committee was extended to 2028 without any fanfare. There would be good reasons to remove the man completely from sport. In 2014, on a Russian television talk show, he interrupted the host when the Williams sisters were being discussed. “Williams brothers!” he corrected.
Correction note: In a previous version of this article, it stated that BMW, as Medvedev’s advertising partner, had not objected to the tennis star’s participation in a show event in Russia. In fact, the sponsorship had ended in 2023. We apologize for the error.
